Social Media Campaign- Increase Mental Health Access and Education for Generation Z

Gayleen Cubillas Reyes

PHP 308: Community Health Education for Disease Outbreaks

Dr. Adaeze Oguegbu

February 25, 2022

Public Health Concern: Generation Z’s poor mental health and mental illness crisis

Generation Z is made up of people born from 1997 to 2012 and are of ages 10 to 25.

Since 2010, childhood mental health concerns and suicide have risen, and by 2018 suicide was

the second leading cause of death in people from 10 to 24 years old (American Academy of

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2021). Between 2007, and 2018 suicide rates among youth

aged 10 to 24 increased by 57%, In 2020 alone there were 6,600 deaths due to suicide in people

10 to 24 years old(Office of the Surgeon General, 2021). The American Physiological

Association determined that Generation Z had higher neuropsychic strain and emotional

suffering in their personality profiles than people from previous generations(Setko, 2019).

Generation Z children were also 2.4 times more likely to suffer anxiety than the previous

generation(Setko, 2019).

Mental health is important to our overall health because it includes our emotional,

psychological, and social well-being(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Mental

illnesses like depression can increase the risk of developing physical health problems like

diabetes, heart disease and stroke(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). The first

onset of mental health disorders usually occurs in childhood or adolescence(Kessler, 2007).

Early interventions of mental health disorders can help reduce the severity of a mental health

disorder and prevent secondary disorders from developing(Kessler, 2007).

Target audience: Generation Z

The target population for this social media campaign is Generation Z, other generations

may also use the information to access or educate themselves on mental health and mental health

issues in their communities. 92% of Generation Z has a digital footprint(Bensley, 2019). This
generation has a heavy social media presence, and are constantly using apps and the internet to

look for information and interact with people. I think using a social media platform will help

make information to this generation more accessible. Mental health education and access is not

available to everyone, the goal for this social media campaign is to provide people in Generation

Z with tools to access mental health resources and also provide them with education around

mental health.

Social Media Platform Outline:

Since 92% of Generation Z has a digital footprint, I decided to use Instagram as the social

media platform. I like Instagram to share mental health resources and mental health education

because people can easily access posts. I also like the concept of interacting with the audience by

asking them questions on stories, like what type of mental health resources or mental health

education they are interested in. By interacting with the audience I can cater information on what

type of resources they need.

The types of resources I would use would be national mental health resources people

from all over the country can access like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website which provides education on mental health. I

would also provide information on how to deal with stress, like meditation, exercise, and sleep. I

think Instagram would help people access information. It would also be helpful for people to

share posts and stories with their friends or family members regarding mental health resources.
 References

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2021). A declaration from the

American Academy of ... - aacap.org. AACAP. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from

https://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/Docs/press/Declaration_National_Crisis_Oct-2021

.pdf

Bensley, R. J., & Brookins-Fisher, J. (2019). Chapter 8: Using Social Media . In

Community and Public Health Education Methods: A practical guide (pp. 143–167). Jones &

Barlett Learning.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 28). Mental Health. Retrieved

February 25, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm

Kessler, R. C., Amminger, G. P., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Lee, S., & Ustün, T. B.

(2007). Age of onset of mental disorders: a review of recent literature. Current opinion in

psychiatry, 20(4), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0b013e32816ebc8c

Office of the Surgeon General. (2021, December 27). U.S. Surgeon General Issues

Advisory on Youth Mental Health Crisis further exposed by covid-19 pandemic. HHS.gov.

Retrieved February 24, 2022, from

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-ment

al-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html

Setko, A. G., Bulycheva, E. V., & Setko, N. P. (2019). Peculiarities of pre nosological

changes in mental and physical health of students from generation Z. Health Risk Analysis, (4),

158-164.